1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a spinning apparatus, and in particular a spinning apparatus for producing a spun yarn by using swirling air currents to twist a non-twisted short staple fiber bundle drafted by a drafting unit.
2. Description of Related Art
A known spinning apparatus comprises a nozzle block provided with nozzles for jetting air to induce swirling air currents that act on a fiber bundle delivered from a drafting unit. Such known spinning apparatus includes a hollow spindle and a guide member disposed with its extremity located near the inlet end of the hollow spindle, and capable of twisting the non-twisted fiber bundle by the agency of the swirling air currents to produce a spun yarn.
One example of such a known spinning apparatus is shown in FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, a needle holder 4' which holds a guide member 5 may be placed at the inlet of a nozzle block 2. The needle holder 4' may be formed by cutting a portion of a cylindrical body provided with a projection at one end thereof along a plane parallel to and spaced from the axis of the cylindrical body. A fiber bundle F delivered from a drafting unit advances into the nozzle block 2 through a fiber bundle inlet 13 defined by the inner circumference of the nozzle block 2 and the flat guide surface of the needle holder 4'.
In this known spinning apparatus, vortices are generated in the swirling air currents swirling around the guide member 5, as indicated by the clockwise directed arrow in the lower portion of FIG. 5. These vortices urge some of the component fibers of the fiber bundle F toward the "wrong" side of the guide member 5. Consequently, the arrangement of the binding fibers is disturbed, which in turn may reduce the strength of the resultant spun yarn.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a spinning apparatus for twisting a fiber bundle moving around a guide member with swirling air currents that is capable of reducing or eliminating the swirling vortices that would otherwise dishevel the fiber bundle and that is consequently capable of producing a spun yarn having a relatively higher strength.